Piers (also known as docks) provide a platform that extends from land, over a body of water. Piers can either be floating structures or raised, supported platform over the water surface. These platforms can provide a convenient storage solution for small watercraft, a walkway over the water, or simply a raised dry surface.
To properly support the pier when the pier is not of the floating variety, a series of support legs rest on an underwater surface (i.e., lake bottom, river bottom, pond bottom, etc.). However, the support legs of a pier have a tendency to sink into, and shift around on, the underwater surface, thereby causing a multitude of potential problems. For example, as the support legs shift, the pier becomes unleveled. Further, such unleveling can cause damage to the pier itself. As the support legs sink into the underwater surface, removing the pier from the body of water becomes very difficult. This is even more problematic as the pier is often removed and installed in the body of water on a seasonal basis (e.g., removed during the winter, installed during the spring, summer, and fall). Thus, if the support legs are stuck in the underwater surface, removal becomes complicated and time consuming.
Therefore, improvements in pier design are needed.